This research addresses the relative navigation problem for spacecraft formation Ćying missions in near-Earth orbit. Technological and economic inĆuences have expedited the miniaturization of spacecraft systems, popularizing the notion of satellite teamwork due to the potential reductions in overall costs and complexity. It is now feasible to use a coordinated group of close-proximity satellites, known as a formation, to autonomously perform rendezvous, on-orbit servicing and science-based missions for a fraction of the resources a large-scale satellite would require. Despite the growing interest in formation Ćying spacecraft however, only a limited number of applications have been Ćight validated as a result of the difficulties associated with accurately determining the relative motion of the spacecraft within a formation. To enhance the capabilities of onboard autonomous guidance, navigation and control systems, this thesis presents the development of two adaptive extended Kalman Ąlter navigation algorithms for spacecraft formation Ćying. The proposed adaptive Ąlters are capable of updating the internal noise characteristics of the Kalman Ąlter in real time, and are viable in all orbit scenarios, including highly elliptical orbits in the presence of perturbations. The Ąrst Kalman Ąlter approach uses maximum likelihood estimation techniques to derive analytical adaptations laws for the Ąlter, which are then improved through the novel inclusion of an intrinsic smoothing routine. The second approach uses an embedded fuzzy logic system based on a covariancematching analysis of the Ąlter residuals, where the fuzzy system has been speciĄcally designed for the spacecraft navigation problem at hand. Numerical simulations of three spacecraft formations are used to demonstrate that the proposed adaptive navigation algorithms are appreciably more robust to Ąlter initialization errors, dynamics modelling deĄciencies, and measurement noise than the standard Kalman Ąlter. iii To Dr. Steve Ulrich, formally my supervisor, but more importantly my mentor, my professor, and my friend; your steadfast support and leadership have made my studies in Ottawa immensely fulĄlling. Thank you for providing this opportunity to continually learn from your expertise, and for instilling conĄdence and direction throughout the span of our collaboration. The dedication you have shown to me, and all of the members of our research group, is remarkable. It has been an honor to work with you, and a whole lot of fun too. To the professors who have guided me along this journey, including Bruce Burlton, Tarik Kaya, Alex Ellery, Victor Aitken, Howard Schwartz, and many others from Carleton University. The knowledge and wisdom you have shared has been invaluable to my growth as an engineer. And from the days at Dalhousie University, my thanks in particular to Professors Darrel Doman, Jeff Dahn, Timothy Little, and Guy Kember. You managed to imbue a fascination with space elevators, the laws of nature, the rules of mathematics, and the process of learning,...
